hotchkiss



(No Model.)

B. B. HOTGHKISS, Deod. M. H. HOTGHKISS and W. G. GULLWER, Administrators.

GUN CARRIAGE.

Patented May 2-0, 1890.

Ja 3. 40mm,

UNITED STATES BENJAMIN I). IIOTOIIKISS, OF PARIS,

PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCE; MARIA II. I-IOTOI-IKISS AND WVILLIAM O. GULLIVER (ADMINISTRATORS OF BENJAMIN B. HOTCHKISS, DECEASED) ASSIGNORS TO THE HOTOI-IKISS ORDNANCE COMPANY, OF

LONDON, ENGLAND.

GUN-CARRIAG E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 428,209, dated May 20, 1890.

Application filed March 28, 1884. Serial No. 125,942- (No model.) Patented in England April25, 1884, No. 6,796-

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN B. I-IOTCH- iilss, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Paris, in the Republic of France,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gun-Oarriages, (for which a patent was granted in England in 1884, No. 6,796,) fully described and represented in the following specification and the accomto panying drawings, forming a part of the same.

In said drawings, Figure 1 represents in side elevation a gun and its carriage provided with these improvements, the muzzle end of 7 1-5 the gun being broken away. Fig. 2 represents a plan view of the carriage, the gun being removed. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 7 of Fig. 1, looking rearward. Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 2 of Fig. 1, looking forward. Figs. 5 and 6 represent by a side elevation and sectional view a modified form of spring.

The improvements are hereinafter shown as applied to a cannon of the general con- 2 5 struction of that illustrated and explained in United States Letters Patent No. 270,590, granted to me January 16, 1883, and hence no detailed description of the cannon A is necessary here, and it will suffice to say that a 0 gun-carriage supplied with or made in accordance with the present invention may support a cannon of any construction.

As here shown, the sliding carriage is mounted to move upon a chassis or sub-car- 3 5 riage. This sliding carriage, as shown in Figs. 1 to 4, is composed, as is common, of sides 13 B, here represented as made of metal. These sides B B are tied together by tubular braces 8, through which bolts extend, and by 0 a bridge-bar-18, but may have front and rear end transoms, if desired. Said slides carry pillow-blocks 32, in which the cannon A is mounted upon its transoms, the same being held in place by transomcaps 44. The sliding carriage is mounted to move upon rails 10 10, formed by the upper surface of the sides E of the chassis or sub-carriage, which sides E are connected together at the front by a transom G and at the rear by a transom I1,

and may, if desired, be strengthened by braces, such as tubular braces 8, through whichbolts extend. The transom G isshaped to form a socket that will receive a pintle 11, that is secured to the bed-plate D, and forms the center of the traversing movement of the gun. The transom II is shaped to form bearings for portions of the training mechanism. The platform Dis extended so as to underlie the entire chassis, and at its rear end supports part of the training mechanism, as will be further explained. It is also extended laterally at each side to provide bearings Q for the wheels I to any extent to which it may be desirable to move the gun horizontally, said wheels I being secured to the rear end of the chassis in any suitablemanner.

In ordinary constructions the sliding carriage is commonly provided with frictionrollers, that run upon the rails 10; but in the present structure the lower portions of the sides B of the sliding carriage are formed into guides constituted by U-like inward projections 13, (formed by short pieces J, bolted to the sides E, or otherwise constructed,as may be desired,) that embrace the right-angular bends of the sides E of the chassis or subcarriage, which form the rails 10, as is well shown in Fig. This sliding carriage also has parts suitably arranged to form abutments, as the pieces J, that may engage stop buffer springs 12, usually of rubber, and thus limit the forward and rearward movements of said carriage. These springs 12 are supported by holders suitably secured to the chassis.

In order to limit the range of movement due to the recoil of the gun, and thus reduce the length of the sub-carriage, I provide the sliding carriage with springs S, as shown. In the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2these springs 0 are coils of wire attached at one end to the chassis or sub-carriage E and at the other to the sliding carriage B. In another form(sh0wn in Figs. 5 and 6) they are made of a rubber block or blocks confined in a housing and ar 5 ranged to be compressed during the rearward movement of the carriage. In both instances they are duplicated on opposite sides of the shown will be particularly described. The

coiled springs S, Figs. 1 and 2, in one, two,

v three, or more pairs, the individual members of each pair of which are placed on opposite sides of the gun-carriage and terminate at opposite ends in eyes or hooks 14. and 15, by which latter they are secured or attached to a bolt or lug 17, fixed in or projecting from the sides B of the running carriage and by the former to eyes or hooks 16, attached to the sides E of the sub-carriage or chassis, and while these attachments might be made so as to cause the said springs to lie horizontally the inclined arrangement shown is preferred, for the reason that the springs-will then act by their resiliency not only to resist rearward movement of the sliding carriage, but to draw said carriage down onto the chassis or subcarriage, and thus increase the frictional re-' of springs that will accomplish the purposes of their use, it is preferable and advantageous to employ'a multiplicity of springs, for the reason that by their use a greater measure of safety is secured, because 'if one or more of the springs break others will remain intact to resist and limit the run of the sliding carriage.

It will now be apparent that the extent of rearward movement of the gun and its sliding carriage due to the recoil is limited by the combined action of the resistance of the springs and that due to the friction between the sliding carriage and the rails of the chassis or sub-carriages, and that any violent reaction of the springs in their tendency to move the carriage forward into battery is opposed and limited by the friction between said running carriage and the sub-carriage.

It will further be observed that the resistance to the recoil due both to the springs and the surface-friction rapidly increases as the sliding carriage runs backward or recoils, and in like manner decreases as the sliding carriage returns forward into battery, the most desirable effect in each direction being thus accomplished by simple means.

All of the advantages due to the coiled wire construction of the springs are foundin the rubber springs S shownin Figs. 5 and 6,

- which illustrating one of the best modes of construction for the rubber springs will be particularly described. The rubber block or ber block is confined by the head 21 of a piston whose rod 22 passes through the rubber block and is secured by its threaded end in a tappet-socket of a head 23, that carries a hook or eye, as 14, that is attached to a lug, as 16, on the side E of the chassis.

In recoiling as the gun is fired the sliding carriage starts and runs rearward, in which movement it carries the cylinder 19: rearward, while the piston 22 remains stationary, thus causing the rubber block to be compressed between the cylinder-head 20 and the piston-head 21, whereby a constantantly-increasing resistance to such movement of the carriage is accomplished. The rubber spring in opposing the recoil movement acts by compression, while the wire spring acts by expansion but it will be obvious that the rubber and wire springs might act in the opposite manner to that shown when their resiliency is acting to take up and limit the rearward movement of the sliding carriage. Some of the springs of either kind, where a multiplicity of springs is used, may have the mode of operation shown in the rubber spring and others the mode of operation shown .in the wire springs. The springs may be placed between the sides B of the sliding carriage, instead of outside of them, and be arranged centrally, and in the latter case the duplex arrangement may be supplanted by single springs of considerable size.

An air-spring might be used in I lieu of either of the springs described, a piston and cylinder with proper valves being suitable to the purpose.

'-Ihe second part of the invention, relating {to the mechanism for elevating and directing I the gun, may be carriedinto practical effect, as follows: The bridge-bar 18 has extending vertically from it a guiding-socket 9 for the elevating-screw C. There is a threaded wormwheel 7, in which the screw 0 runs,,that is seated between shoulders of the bar 18; and this worm-wheel 7 is made to gear with a worm 5 that is journaled in the'said bridgebar 18 and arranged to slide on and yet partake of the rotative movements of the shaft 2, which is splined or made polygonal for this purpose. This shaft 2 turns in abearing 6, that is supported by an arm 4, that is secured to the chassis, and said shaft extends to the rear of the chassis, and is there provided with a hand or crank wheelN, by the turning of which the horizontal rotation produced will, through the internally-threaded worm 5 and its drivingwheel 7, communicate avertical movement to the screw 0, which will elevate or depress the gun,as may be. As all of these parts move bodily with the entire carriage laterally, and as the worm-wheel 5 may slide horizontally upon the shaft 2 when the sliding carriage is moved longitudinally without communicating such movement to the wheel N, it follows that the elevation and depression of the gun may be accomplished during the sliding or lateral movement of the sliding or upper carriage. The rear end IIO of the platform D has a vertical extension 50, that provides at its upper end a rack that is engaged by a worm 3, fast to the shaft of a hand or crank wheel M, which shaft is mounted in bearings made in effect a part of the cross-head H of the chassis, as is the extension 4. Upon turning the wheel M the rotative movements imparted to the worm 3 will cause the rack to traverse, and thus move the chassis and sliding carriage laterally. From this construction it will be perceived that a person training the gun may stand at the rear of the carriage, and by suitably turning the Wheels N M may elevate, depress, and traverse the gun, and that in this laying its elevation and direction may be carried on during firing without danger or disturbance for the reason that the chassis does not recoil, and that the running carriage which carries'the gun and the elevating-screw may slide backward and forward through the provision of the polygonal shaft 2 and sliding worm-Wheel '7 without interfering with the wheels N M. Through these improvements, therefore, the person controlling the gun may train the same to follow a moving object, as a torpedo-boat, and fire or cause the gun to be fired at the instant the object is properly sighted, and this without danger to his person from the recoil of the gun, which is attained byso constructing the parts that the wheels do not participate in the recoiling movements of the gun.

Either branch of the improvements may be used Without the other, as will be apparent.

YVhat I is claim is 1. The combination, with a sub-carriage or chassis consisting of sides E E, that are provided at their upper edges with right-angular bends, and a gun-carriage mounted to slide thereon and provided with V-shaped projections that embrace said right-angular bends, of springs ccnnecting said chassis and sliding carriage, so that they will act during the Whole rearward movement of the carriage to resist and modify such movement, substan-' tially as described.

2. The combination, with a sub-carriage or chassis adapted to receive at its front a pintle tionary mechanism for operating said screw, and a sliding connection between said mechanism and the screw, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with a sliding guncarriage and its sub-carriage or chassis, of the elevating screw having an actuating worm- Wheel, and a worm sliding on a polygonal or splined driving-shaft supported by the subcarriage, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a gun, its sliding carriage, and its sub-carriage or chassis, one mounted on the other, of training devices for operating the elevating and depressing screw of the gun, training devices for moving the sub-carriage laterally, and sliding connections between the gun and training devices, whereby the training devices do not partake of the recoil movement of the gun, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

BENJAMIN B. HOTCHKISS.

Witnesses:

RoBT. M. IIooPER, DAVID T. S. FULLER. 

